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Why do Christians worship on Sunday instead of Saturday? In Part 1, we saw that the seventh-day Sabbath belonged to the Old Covenant mediated by Moses and given to Israel. In Part 2, we move from the covenantal foundation to the New Testament evidence. The resurrection of Jesus on the first day of the week, the worship pattern of the early church, and the fulfillment of the Sabbath in Christ all help explain why Christians gather on Sunday rather than Saturday.
Table of contents
- The resurrection made the first day central for the New Covenant people of God
- The early church gathered on the first day of the week
- 1 Corinthians 16:2 confirms the first-day pattern
- The Sabbath is de-emphasized in the New Testament after the Gospels
- Colossians 2:16–17 says Sabbaths were shadows fulfilled in Christ
- Romans 14:5–6 shows that observance of days is not a binding church command
- Sunday is rightly called the Lord’s Day
- The true and greater Sabbath is found in Christ
- Conclusion
The resurrection made the first day central for the New Covenant people of God
Why did the first day become so important? Because that is the day Jesus rose from the dead. The phrase “first day of the week” occurs eight times in the New Testament, and six of those occurrences refer directly to Christ’s resurrection. Matthew 28:1, Mark 16:2, Mark 16:9, Luke 24:1, John 20:1, and John 20:19 all draw attention to the first day in connection with the risen Christ. That is not accidental. The New Testament repeatedly highlights the first day as the day of resurrection.
This is important because the resurrection is not a minor event added onto the Christian faith. It is the triumph of Christ over sin, death, and the grave. If the Old Covenant was associated with the seventh day, it should not surprise us that the New Covenant would be marked by the day on which Christ rose and inaugurated the new creation reality His people now live in. Sunday became the fitting day for New Covenant worship because it is the day of the resurrection.
The early church gathered on the first day of the week
The importance of the first day extends beyond the resurrection accounts. The book of Acts shows the early church gathering on that day. Acts 20:7 says, “On the first day of the week, when we were gathered together to break bread, Paul talked with them.” This gives us a clear picture of the gathered church meeting on Sunday. The reference to breaking bread is most naturally understood as a reference to communion in the context of corporate worship.
Acts 2:42 supports this understanding by distinguishing fellowship from “the breaking of bread,” suggesting that it is more than an ordinary meal. This makes excellent theological sense. Communion looks back to Christ’s death and forward to His return, as 1 Corinthians 11:26 teaches. Since Christ rose on the first day of the week, it is fitting that the church gathered on that day to worship and remember Him.
1 Corinthians 16:2 confirms the first-day pattern
Paul also wrote in 1 Corinthians 16:2, “On the first day of every week, each of you is to put something aside and store it up.” The most natural explanation is that Paul instructed believers to do this on the day they gathered together. This fits well with Acts 20:7 and reinforces the pattern of first-day worship in the early church.
So the evidence is not only that Jesus rose on the first day. It is also that the early church assembled on the first day. That pattern is exactly what we would expect if the day of Christ’s resurrection had become the fitting day for New Covenant worship.
The Sabbath is de-emphasized in the New Testament after the Gospels
There is also an important contrast in emphasis. As your notes point out, the phrase “first day of the week” occurs eight times in the New Testament, but “seventh day of the week” never occurs. After the Gospels, the Sabbath is no longer emphasized as a binding Christian obligation.
Why is the Sabbath mentioned so often in the Gospels? Because during Jesus’s earthly ministry, the Old Covenant order was still in place. Christ had not yet died and risen. The New Covenant had not yet been instituted. The transition had not yet occurred. But after Christ’s death and resurrection, the emphasis changes. When the Sabbath appears in Acts, it is associated with Jewish practice rather than with the church’s gathered worship. That is a very important distinction.
Colossians 2:16–17 says Sabbaths were shadows fulfilled in Christ
One of the clearest passages on this subject is Colossians 2:16–17: “Therefore let no one pass judgment on you in questions of food and drink, or with regard to a festival or a new moon or a Sabbath. These are a shadow of the things to come, but the substance belongs to Christ.”
This passage makes two truths unmistakably clear. First, believers are not to let anyone judge them regarding the Sabbaths. If seventh-day Sabbath observance were a binding New Covenant command for the church, that would be a very strange statement. Second, Paul says Sabbaths were a shadow. A shadow is not the final reality. It points forward to something greater. The substance, the fulfillment, belongs to Christ.
That means the Sabbath had a temporary and typological role under the Old Covenant. It pointed beyond itself to Jesus. Once the reality has come, God’s people must understand the shadow in light of Him.
Romans 14:5–6 shows that observance of days is not a binding church command
Romans 14:5–6 says, “One person esteems one day as better than another, while another esteems all days alike. Each one should be fully convinced in his own mind.” Paul treats the observance of days as a matter of liberty, not law. That would be impossible if the church were required to keep the seventh-day Sabbath as a continuing covenant obligation.
This fits perfectly with Colossians 2. The Sabbath is not treated as a moral command binding the church in the same way as commands against adultery, lying, or idolatry. The New Testament does not speak about Sabbath observance as a universal covenant requirement for believers under Christ.
Sunday is rightly called the Lord’s Day
Revelation 1:10 says, “I was in the Spirit on the Lord’s Day.” This most likely refers to Sunday, the first day of the week, so named because it is the day of the Lord’s resurrection.
That title is fitting. The Sabbath was the sign day under the Old Covenant. The Lord’s Day is the resurrection day under the New Covenant. Sunday is not arbitrary. It is rooted in the finished work of Christ, the day He rose, and the worship pattern of the early church.
The true and greater Sabbath is found in Christ
This is where the lesson reaches its deepest theological point. Hebrews 4:9–10 says there remains a rest for the people of God. That rest is ultimately found in Christ. The Sabbath under the Old Covenant was a picture, a shadow, and a type. The reality is Jesus Himself.
Jesus said in Matthew 11:28–30, “Come to me… and I will give you rest.” Christians do not say that there is no Sabbath principle at all. Rather, we say the true and greater Sabbath is fulfilled in Christ. We rest in His finished work. We stop striving to earn salvation. We trust Him. And we enjoy that rest not merely one day each week, but every day in Him.
That gives a strong answer when someone asks, “Why don’t you keep the Sabbath?” A helpful response is this: “I keep the true and greater Sabbath by resting in Christ, and I gather with the church on Sunday because Jesus rose on the first day of the week.” That captures both the fulfillment of the Sabbath and the reason Christians worship on Sunday.
Conclusion
So why do Christians worship on Sunday instead of Saturday? Because the seventh-day Sabbath belonged to the Old Covenant mediated by Moses and given to Israel. Jesus instituted the New Covenant in His blood. Hebrews 7:12 explains that when the priesthood changed, the law-covenant order changed as well. Christ rose on the first day of the week, and the early church gathered on that day. Colossians says Sabbaths were shadows fulfilled in Christ, Romans says the observance of days is not a binding law for the church, and Hebrews says the true rest is found in Jesus.
So the Old Covenant is associated with Moses and the seventh day. The New Covenant is associated with Jesus and the first day. That is why Christians worship on Sunday.
8 Responses
I’m all the way in Indonesia. I love your blog. I believe we should focus on what is positive about people to bring about positive attitude from their hearts to worship God. I think we will not succeed in motivating others if we see it as a responsibility. It should be something that we do as second nature and without thinking about it. Our enjoyment in worshiping will reflect on their attitude.
Ferry,
Thanks for reading my blog and leaving your thoughts. Well said that worshiping God should be second nature!
The transition between the OT and the NT is not simply “from Saturday to Sunday.” There is much unspoken and implied by this statement that inspires me to clarify it. If we are talking about public worship and group assemblies, then the transition between the OT and the NT is the abandonment of the Jewish calendar system and instauration of weekly assembly of Christ’s disciples on the first day of the week. While the practice of weekly assembly shares the weekly cycle of the Sabbath, they are not the same thing. The paradigm for Christian services can be found in the Jewish synagogue, but the synagogue service in not based on any OT Sabbath law. Christians do not meet together because of the fourth commandment but because of apostolic tradition (NT law) based on the fulfilment of Mosaic calendar ceremonies, such as the resurrection fulfilling the first-day sheaf offering and the gift of the Holy Spirit fulfilling the first-day Feast of Weeks. The Lord designed the Jewish calendar to obsolesce with a final eighth-day Sabbath at the end of their year (eighth day=first day). It anticipated the over-abundance of eighth-day symbolism to supplant the symbolism of completion inherent in the seventh-day. The apostles did not pick the day out of a hat, the Lord chose the day thousands of years before them. The rest of the article (no pun intended) is fine.
Christians are free to take a break any time they want or are able, but they are not free to be lazy. And “taking a rest” is not Sabbath-keeping, especially if one can move it around at will. Christians are free to gather in small groups any day of the week, but they are not free to avoid the assembly of a local congregation because their presence proclaims their unity with other believers in the body of Christ. They are one bread, and their participation in the Lord’s Supper on the Lord’s Day is an outward expression of that truth. Much could be said to commend weekly fellowship on Sunday, but suffice it to say that if Christ is especially present where Christians are gathered together, then why would a Christ-follower stop following Him there?
Terry,
I hope people who read my post make it down to your comment.
If you’ve got this on your site somewhere, you should put the link to it in the comment section. I’d be interested to read a more fully post from you on this topic.
We were studying the need for corporate worship – on the Lord’s Day vs another day – and specifically what that looks like (in different cultures, times, etc). Stumbled on this and thought it interesting as we had never heard the concept of Wednesday worship associated to anything spiritual (have you?). Instead we’d appreciated a mid-week service of gathering and studying and fellowshipping together rather than leave a large gap – and value the casual atmosphere and ability to interact, etc… Interesting to see this historical view:
The Didascalia (The Teaching of the Apostles) was written in 225AD and it is interesting to note that this document in article #2 & #3, it first talks about the Sunday worship with communion, then the midweek worship without communion:
225 AD The Didascalia (The Teaching of the Apostles) 2 “The apostles further appointed: On the first day of the week [Sunday] let there be service, and the reading of the Holy Scriptures, and the oblation [Lord’s Supper], because on the first day of the week our Lord rose from the place of the dead, and on the first day of the week he arose upon the world, and on the first day of the week he ascended up to heaven, and on the first day of the week he will appear at last with the angels of heaven” (Didascalia 2).
225 AD The Didascalia (The Teaching of the Apostles) 3. The apostles further appointed: On the fourth day of the week [Wednesday] let there be service: because on that day our Lord made the disclosure to them about His trial, and His suffering, and His crucifixion, and His death, and His resurrection; and the disciples were on account of this in sorrow. (Didascalia 3).
Wow Summer, that’s really interesting about midweek gatherings and the discussion of communion.
I think based on Acts 2:42 and Acts 20 (and some early church fathers’ writings) you can tell they weekly observed the Lord’s Supper, but I’ve never read anything about views of midweek activity.
Interesting! You know, this family does the “six days you shall labor” thing. Not just labor, we also pack everything else in, too. Any playing, outreach, studying, whatever. By Sundays we are lucky not to be drooling on the shoulders next to us and snoring an obnoxious sounding melody during worship and sermon time! (I think it is only because of your interesting sermons and the phenomenal music we don’t!) Suffice it to say, by Sunday, we hit a wall and just want to rest. Of course there are times when this schedule gets rearranged because of someone’s work schedule or something. Then we try to pick up another day to rest. The whole thing is definitely a work in progress. I am open to learning more about all this but at the same time I remember the trouble my hubby and I had early on at a place that seemed to require attendance at EVERYTHING! This bad experience makes me a little hesitant. Still, I am very interested to learn more about how a day of rest should look. Just saying! 🙂
Hi Lori,
I think the Bible speaks pretty highly of rest, of course most obviously including even a day of rest in the Mosaic Covenant. Even God rested as an example for us (not because He was tired) in Gen 2:2-3. God even expected the land itself to receive a rest (Lev 25:4-12).
I think resting is more an issue of faith and trust than anything else. I don’t know anyone who isn’t busy. By that, I don’t know anyone who says, “I have too much time on my hands.” It’s about trusting God will take care of things. It’s trusting if we take a time off to rest and/or worship God that things aren’t going to fall apart. Resting is probably as much about giving our lives, jobs, families, children, etc over to God and having faith He’ll take care of things.